The KPGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R in Battle

Our tribute to Shinichiro Sakurai, Father of the Skyline, continues with some of our favorite images of hakosuka in warpaint, ready for battle. After the S54 GT-B finished the 1964 Japan Grand Prix second to a purpose-built German race car, Sakurai promised he’d build a car faster than the Porsche and more user-friendly than a BMW. By the next generation, the KPGC10 was born. If a picture is worth a thousand words, these can speak volumes for themselves.

5 Responses to The KPGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R in Battle

Alan T.said:

Nice pics, but the colour shot of the blue & white no.15 on its own is actually Uchida san of ‘Victory 50’ in his KGC10-based race car. So it’s not an ‘in-period’ shot, and it’s not a real KPGC10, let alone a Works car……

Do you have a day, month, and year for this race? What no one seems to understand is that sports car “grand prix” was a group of series, each grand prix encompassing a dozen weekend events for a specific track location and for a specific duration (sprint, 6 hour, 12 hour, 1000km, etc.). So without the specific date and location, you end up with 200 races named “The 19XX Grand Prix”. The previously posted video captioned “1971 Grand Prix” was not in fact the 1971 championship event or even a year end event, but a May 3rd, 1971 sprint race of 15 laps. An early season event with a low level of importance for the series or championship. Sorry, but I’m trying to get past the PR story.

These photos give me an idea of what it was like back in the early 70’s to be around these awesome cars. I think the only way to see this now is either the Nismo festival or JCCA events. (I think next year a trip to Japan is in order.) Thanks for the pics guys.